Officials made the decision to remove the trees after they got the results of an assessment done by the Davey Resource Group, an Ohio-based tree care and consulting company, in the fall. The city paid $250,000 for the work, which includes the assessment, the treatment of damaged trees and the replacement of dangerous trees, Passmore said. –American Statesman

Here’s a question, and it’s really just a question. Would the consulting firm hired by a city find a need to replace some trees if it helps the bottom line? I mean, would they be more likely to find it necessary to remove and replace trees if that’s what they get paid to do? OK, a few questions… A firm from Ohio to tell us about our Texas trees? Don’t we have any good urban foresters who live and work in Texas? I know SFA has a forestry program, we gotta have some grads from there who started consulting firms!

Fear is a powerful force that is gripping us as a culture. We don’t have an evil empire to fight (unless we count ourselves as such), we don’t have any real needs (at least those of us who live in suburban comfort, and yes I count me in that bunch). We are searching for something worth living for!

So, we have to find things to frighten us, to give us something to rally against. It’s the Swine Flu that forces us to use sterilized, pre-packaged communion elements and cancel all UIL athletic events. Or, it’s the Republicans or the Democrats! Or, you get the idea…

The cycle must continue unabated, lest we be able to think about someone else really in need. Like people who lost their homes in a fire, or children without shoes, or (insert your own viable cause here).

The trees are next in this endless cycle and next month it will be something else.

Because we can buy almost anything our heart desires, we find ourselves searching for that which elevates us above the transaction. We’ve grown tired of buying, we need to find something else to sustain us…